Gurgaon: Public Works Department (PWD) has missed yet another Punjab and Haryana high court deadline for completing the long-delayed Tower of Justice at the Gurgaon district court complex — the second time it has failed to meet a court-set target for the project.During a hearing in May, the high court granted the state govt a final extension and directed that the project be completed by June 19. An inspection of the site, however, shows that substantial work remains incomplete. Stone cladding is still underway on several floors, washrooms are unfinished, lifts have not been installed, and construction of the parking area is in progress. Horticulture and landscaping work is at an initial stage, CCTV systems and other electrical infrastructure remain incomplete, and significant portions of interior woodwork are still under execution. While some courtrooms are nearing completion, nearly all critical components required for a functioning modern judicial complex remain pending.PWD has now set a revised internal target of June 30, but officials associated with the project privately acknowledge even that appears difficult to achieve. “Considering the amount of work still pending, it may take another two to three months to complete the entire project,” said an official engaged with the construction.According to officials, nearly 80% of the civil work has been completed. On Saturday, a team from the district attorney’s office visited the site to assess construction progress and evaluate the likely timeline for completion. In response to court pressure and following a fire at the district court complex in May — which severely disrupted judicial functioning and forced several courts to temporarily shift to the PWD rest house — the department has deployed additional manpower from adjoining districts to accelerate work. “We are putting all our efforts into completing the work as early as possible,” a PWD official said.The high court has been closely monitoring the project for repeated delays. In April, it termed the prolonged wait a case of “administrative inefficiency,” issued notices to the Haryana govt, and fixed May 15 as the completion deadline, warning that failure could invite action against senior state officials including the chief secretary. The govt sought and received a further extension to June 19. The court has already imposed a penalty of Rs 10,000 on PWD for failing to adhere to earlier timelines.The Tower of Justice has been envisioned as a modern judicial complex to address Gurgaon’s growing demand for court infrastructure. Spread over seven acres, the facility comprises two blocks of eight and seven floors and is designed to accommodate 55 district and sessions courts. At present, Gurgaon has 45 courts handling nearly 65,000 pending cases, and judicial officers and lawyers have long argued that additional courtrooms and modern infrastructure are essential for improving the efficiency of the justice delivery system.The project has a history of both delays and cost escalation. Its estimated cost has risen from Rs 113 crore to nearly Rs 295 crore.Though the foundation stone was laid in 2014, construction stalled for years over a land transfer dispute with the agriculture department, and was formally inaugurated only in January 2017. Originally scheduled for completion by 2020, the Tower of Justice — nearly nine years into construction — remains a work in progress, with no firm date yet in sight.
